Health insurer Cigna tops 2Q earnings forecast with $588M

The logo at the headquarters of the health insurer Cigna Corp. in Philadelphia.

The logo at the headquarters of the health insurer Cigna Corp. in Philadelphia.

Photo: AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File

Photo: AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File

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The logo at the headquarters of the health insurer Cigna Corp. in Philadelphia.

The logo at the headquarters of the health insurer Cigna Corp. in Philadelphia.

Photo: AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File

Health insurer Cigna tops 2Q earnings forecast with $588M

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Cigna’s second-quarter earnings rose nearly 3 percent, beating estimates as the health insurer had predicted last week when it announced a plan to combine with bigger rival Anthem in a $48-billion deal.

The Bloomfield, Connecticut, company said Thursday that it earned $588 million in the quarter that ended June 30, up from $573 million in the previous year’s quarter.

Adjusted earnings totaled $2.55 per share in the most recent quarter. That easily topped Wall Street expectations . The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $2.26 per share.

Cigna and the Blue Cross-Blue Shield carrier Anthem Inc. announced a plan on Friday for Anthem to acquire Cigna in a cash-and-stock deal that’s expected to close next year. The deal is one of several multibillion-dollar acquisitions taking place in the managed care sector, as insurers scramble to get bigger while adjusting to the health care overhaul and seeking to cut costs and improve technology.

Shares of Cigna rose $1.59 to $147 in(premarket trading Thursday a couple hours before markets opened. That stock price has increased 41 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has risen slightly more than 2 percent.